


Cereal and Murder

by AngelCuttingOnions



Series: Barry Allen’s Chosen Family [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Biphobia, Bisexual Barry Allen, Coming Out, Drunk Barry Allen, Families of Choice, Found Family, Gen, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQphobia, Len’s queer too but i decided he doesn’t like labels so he’s just vibin, Pansexual Cisco Ramon, but more like 1+5, i have a headache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22871083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelCuttingOnions/pseuds/AngelCuttingOnions
Summary: Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you expect. Sometimes the people you think will stand by you through everything are the first to do the exact opposite. Sometimes your family become strangers and your friends become family.Alternatively: The one time Barry loses his family, and the five times he finds something better.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Barry Allen & David Singh, Barry Allen & Hartley Rathaway, Barry Allen & Iris West, Barry Allen & Joe West, Barry Allen & Leonard Snart, Barry Allen & Mick Rory
Series: Barry Allen’s Chosen Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648033
Comments: 20
Kudos: 237





	Cereal and Murder

Barry inhaled and exhaled slowly. He was certain this was going to go fine. He was so certain, that he hadn’t told anyone what he planned to do. He thought he would just tell Joe, Joe would maybe hug him or reassure him that he loved him no matter what, and then they’d go back to whatever it was they were doing that evening. 

Barry was wrong. He told Joe, and at first the man seemed confused. When Barry explained what bisexual meant, his face had hardened. Not five minutes later he was being told to pack his stuff, and that he had a day to get everything out of Joe’s house before it went on the curb. 

So he inhaled and exhaled slowly, and leaned back against the foot of his bed. He was sitting on the floor putting the last of his clothes in a duffle bag. He couldn’t bring himself to do it in superspeed. He needed to feel every second of this, just to be certain that it was real. But seconds feel like minutes and minutes feel like hours to him, and by the time he had finished packing it felt like days had gone by since Joe told him to get out.

Barry closed his eyes and sighed. It seemed like he wasn’t meant to have a father in his life. When he went downstairs the house was empty, Joe was nowhere in sight. Only now did Barry run. He ran everything of his to STAR Labs. Every piece of clothing, every toy and comic book he’d saved from childhood. Every bit of important paperwork and everything he payed for from the fridge, just out of spite. His whole life was at the Labs now, and if that didn’t describe his last few years he wasn’t sure what did. 

~~~

After moving everything over to STAR Labs, Barry pulled out a certain flask kept for special occasions. He figured it was probably not the best idea to be getting drunk alone in a lab, so he decided to take his depressive drinking over to Saints and Sinners. Mostly due to the fact that it was the only place he knew of where absolutely no one would give a shit about someone staring miserably off into the distance while getting drunk off their ass. 

Every time he ordered a drink he splashed a bit of the speedster safe alcohol into it until he slowly started to feel a buzz. And that’s when the staring miserably off into the distance came in. He was so very close to being right about no one giving a shit, except the one person who happened to know who he was, and knew that this was absolutely not a normal thursday for him. 

“Well this is very unlike you Barry. And I thought speedsters couldn’t get drunk.” Leonard Snart shook his head in mock-sadness. 

“Special fromla. Frooomla. Form. Formula? Yeah. That. Was s’posed to be for a special occasion. Technically I stole it. I’m a thief Snart.” Barry giggled, then sighed. “Hey you’re a thief too.”

“Yes Barry, I am.” Snart raised an eyebrow, wondering where the conversation was headed. 

“Can you not be?”

“I believe we’ve already had this conversation-“

“Nonono not premina- pernin- forever. Just like some because I need to sleep for about a week. Or two. What if I sleep forever? No that’s bad I think that’s bad.” Barry’s face scrunched as he thought it over. 

“What the hell happened, kid?” Snart looked worried now, he’d never known the kid to be like this. 

“I’ve been kicked out of Joe’s house because he’s mean.” Barry said sadly. 

“He’s... Mean? Barry has West hurt you?” Snart sat up a bit straighter and studied Barry’s face. 

“Only with words.” Barry laughed humorlessly and set his head in his hands. “Really rude words. Like bad rude. I think I should sleep for a very very long time. How long do you think it’ll take the city to notice,” he looked around him with wide eyes and tried and failed to whisper, “the _Flash_ is missing. Because that’s me. I’m the Flash. I’d be missing because I’m sleeping.” 

“Alright kid you have clearly had too much. Let’s get you out of here before you share that information with the wrong person.” Snart pulled Barry up off his chair and started leading him out the door when he realized he had no idea where the kid was staying. He sighed when he figured out what he’d have to do. There was no way in hell he was taking the kid to the West house or just leaving him.

Snart knew for a fact Barry wouldn’t be able to hold onto him during a motorcycle ride, so he prepared himself mentally for a slow walk to his currant safehouse, thanking whatever deities that it wasn’t that far. As the two men were leaving the bar, Barry was talking loudly about how much the city would miss him. “But Leonard. Len. Lenny. I’m the _Flash_ so I can’t leave. No naps. Gotta save people. Hunt things. The family business!”

“That’s the Winchesters. Anyway, you can’t be the Flash. He told me himself that he can’t get drunk because of his metabolism and you are very drunk right now.” He steadied Barry as they stepped over the threshold of the doorway. “Step over- _over_ \- Barry work with me here.”

“Really? I’m not the Flash?” Barry’s bottom lip wobbled at the false information. “But- but why not?”

“Ask him that the next time you speak.” 

“Ok!” Barry stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Lenny? Would you kick your hypothetical child out of your house?”

“You know what sort of things I’ve done. Do you see anything a kid could do that would be worse than me?” He wanted to tread lightly. He had a feeling if he spooked the kid now he’d never learn why West threw him out. 

“No... You know you’re a good person right?”

“I’m really not.”

“Bad people don’t walk their drunk not-friends home.” Barry decided to continue walking. “I’m bisexual.” 

It was Len’s turn to stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “Kid, did West kick you out cause you’re queer?”

“Yuuup!” Barry drew out the word, popping the P at the end. 

“Turn left, no I said _left_ \- Barry!“ Len grabbed the back of the kids shirt and dragged him up the steps of the safehouse after him. He unlocked the door and gently pushed Barry inside. 

“Like I just don’t get it! I’m generally- nono _genuinely_ confused. Like- I like dicks!” Barry ranted as Len led him to sit on the couch and pulled off his shoes for him.

Len nodded for him to continue, and that’s when Hartley peered into the room, Mick not far behind. 

“Why is that such a big deal?! Iris likes dicks too! Why hasn’t she been kicked out?! Why is it only illegal for _me_ to like dick! I’m the exact same person I was yesterday except now he just has some new information about me and I don’t _get it_ Lenny!”

Mick held back a snort at the nickname. When Barry finally noticed the two newcomers he waved at them with a smile on his face. “Hi Mick! Micky? Micky. Hi Hartley! I’ve been kicked out.” His grin widened. “It’s cause I like dicks.”

“Damn, me too. Wanna start a club?” Hartley flopped down on the couch next to Barry. 

“Ok!” 

“Can I torch his old man?” Mick questioned with a somewhat disturbing grin. 

“We can discuss that when he’s sober. For now he needs sleep. Everyone out.” Len ushered Mick back out of the room, but couldn’t get Hartley to get off the couch. Len noticed the look on Hartley’s face and sighed. “Get him a couple extra blankets and some water.” He left once Hartley nodded. 

When Barry woke up he was covered in two blankets that weren’t there when he fell asleep, and there was a half empty glass of water on the coffee table across from him. Hartley was curled up at the other end of the couch still asleep. 

~~~

Work was different now. Things were tense between him and Joe and Barry was certain people had noticed. They didn’t talk outside of cases, and when they did speak, Joe acted as if Barry was less than a stranger. He didn’t talk or joke with Barry like he did with any of his other coworkers. It got to the point Barry decided to put in a request to Singh not to be put on any of Joe’s cases. 

He was in Captain Singh’s office to do exactly that when he learned he was beaten to it. “Allen, just the person I wanted to see.” Singh nodded towards the chair on the other side of his desk. “Take a seat.”

Barry suddenly remembered a report he hadn’t turned in yet. “Sir I swear I’ll have that case report turned in by-“

Singh didn’t wait for him to finish speaking. “Good, but that’s not what I wanted to see you about. Joe West has requested that you aren’t assigned to any cases he’s working on.” He looked concerned. “He didn’t give a reason, just put in the request.”

“Oh. That’s um- That’s actually why I came to see you.” Barry sank into the chair he was previously told to sit in. “I was going to ask that too.”

“Barry I won’t pry if you tell me not to, however if it’s something that will affect you at work I’d like to know.” His voice was serious but his face was worried. Barry had known Singh for years now, he understood the concern. 

“I- Um.” Barry struggled to find the right words, especially after the last time he said them went so horribly wrong. “I shared some information with Joe. He didn’t take it well?”

“I see. Nothing illegal?” 

“No! Nothing illegal. Well, not anymore at least.” Barry froze as he realized how that sounded. “Not that it’s bad! It isn’t a bad thing! Well Joe thinks it is but it’s not like illegal bad? I’m sorry I’m rambling and it’s not even that important but like it’s a thing I haven’t really told anyone and with how Joe reacted- Sorry I’m rambling again um. Not illegal.”

At this point, Singh had his eyes closed and was pinching the bridge of his nose. “Allen, just spit it out.”

“I’m bisexual?” With Barry’s words his boss’s eyes snapped open. 

“Barry, are you saying Joe is-“

“Yeah.” Barry cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. “Yeah he- No I’m sorry this is a personal thing I need to deal with myself I shouldn’t be bothering my boss with it. I just came in to request being taken off his cases but if he’s already done that then that’s all I needed, thank you sir.” Barry stood up to leave. 

“ _Sit_ , Allen.” 

He sat back down. 

“I don’t know how bad it is, but I want you to know that you have some options here. If he harasses or threatens you, you can file a complaint and I can see about him getting transferred. If you need a few days off I can give you that.” Singh paused for a moment as he had a realization. “Your currant residence is listed as the West’s house. Barry if you need someplace to stay for the time being, Rob and I have a spare bedroom, you’re welcome to it.”

“Thank you sir, but I have somewhere to stay right now.” He very purposely didn’t mention that somewhere meant on a cot at STAR Labs. “And I think it’s difficult to harass someone when you’re pretending they don’t exist.” 

“Let me know if anything changes. Remember that you don’t have to protect him, if he does anything he needs to take responsibility for that. And Barry?” Singh looked Barry in the eye. “I’m proud of you.”

“I-“ He swallowed. “Thank you, sir.”

“Now get back to work.”

~~~

Living at STAR Labs wasn’t terrible. Sure, the beds weren’t the most comfortable, it could be cold at times, and it was a bit difficult to hide living there from everyone else, but there were good things too. The showers barely took any time to heat up, he wasn’t living with his homophobic foster father, and most restaurants delivered there. 

He had been living there for two weeks and he was brushing his teeth before going to bed for the night. At least that had been his plan. When he left the bathroom, he was greeted by the sight of one Cisco Ramon clothed in fuzzy Star Wars pajamas marching into the room with a determined look on his face. 

“It’s not what it looks like?” Barry tried. 

“Oh really? Because it _looks_ like you’ve been living out of STAR Labs.” Cisco crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “You tripped an alarm in the kitchen and I got an alert. I checked the cameras to see a certain someone decked out in jammies eating cereal at one in the morning. I checked farther back and you’ve been here for days.”

“Ok I guess it is what it looks like. Wait is it really that late?” Barry looks at the nearest clock. “Man the lack of windows in here is really throwing me off.”

“Dude, why the hell are you living in the Labs? I’m pretty sure the last time someone was living here all secret-like was after Hartley was disowned for being gay.” Cisco took a seat at the end of the cot Barry had been sleeping in. 

At his friend’s words Barry cringed. “Well... Actually...”

“Actually? Wait- No! Joe? Joe West? No! Dude I’ll kick his ass! I will kick his ass _so far_ you don’t even understand. Do you want me to hit him because I will absolutely hit him. Wait you’re gay? Queer? I don’t know, some form of LGBTQ? Not that I care of course! That would be hypocritical of me.”

“Please don’t assault him, I don’t want you getting arrested.” Barry joined Cisco on the cot, leaning back against the wall. “Although I’m pretty sure Captain Singh would let you go free.”

“I’m about to commit a crime. Oh I’m pansexual if you were wondering.” 

“Bisexual.”

“Cool. Do you still have cereal?”

“Of course.”

“I hope you know you’re crashing at my place now.”

“I had a feeling. Cereal?”

“Cereal.”

~~~

Barry and Cisco were having yet another bro night which included watching old horror movies and laughing at them, when the doorbell rang. Cisco groaned and shoved his blanket aside as Barry reached for the remote to pause the movie. When Cisco opened the door he tensed, looked back at Barry, then back at whoever was standing outside. “Can I help you?”

“Cisco, I probably should have called you or Barry first before I showed up but I hadn’t heard from Barry so I talked to my dad and he said- Some awful stuff, and I’ve been checking everywhere and I saw Caitlin at STAR Labs and she said Barry was staying with you and I just wanted to make sure that he’s alright.” Barry sat up when he heard the familiar voice. 

Cisco, now much less tense, turned to Barry once again. “I’ll kick her out if you don’t want to talk to her but she seems chill.” 

Barry laughed. “You can let her in Cisco.”

When Cisco opened the door fully, Iris all but shoved past him to get to Barry. When she reached him, she pulled him up off the couch and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. 

“Right, well I’ll be in my bedroom so you two can talk.” Cisco excused himself. 

Barry had melted into the hug. When released, he took a seat and Iris followed. “So... I’m guessing Joe told you?”

“He said you’re gay?” She frowned. 

“Bisexual, actually.” He replied cautiously. “I planned to tell you, but then uh- Joe didn’t react as well as I hoped and then things just- Yeah.” 

“I yelled at him for a good half hour. I told him that if he was going to treat his own son like this then he’s going to lose his daughter as well.” Iris was of course determined as always. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to tell me yourself, and I understand why you didn’t earlier. It’s your thing to share, you should be allowed to when you feel comfortable. I love you no matter what Barry, and I’m happy to know this part of your life even if you didn’t technically plan for me knowing quite yet.” 

Barry was trying to hold back tears at her words. He launched forward and pulled her into another hug. “Thank you Iris.” 

“You’re welcome Barry. We’re definitely talking about cute guys together now though, you have no excuse to ignore me.”

~~~

Barry asked Cisco if they could invite Caitlin over. He wanted to tell her. She knew that he wasn’t living with Joe, but she didn’t know the reason why. They were all sitting on Cisco’s living room floor eating pizza when Barry blurted it out. 

“I’m bi and Joe kicked me out.” 

Caitlin coughed, clearly not expecting that. “Bisexual, biromantic, or bigender? And is that why you were living at STAR Labs for three weeks?”

“Bisexual. Technically it was only two before Cisco kidnapped me and forced me to live with him.” Barry explained, shoveling more pizza in his mouth as he did so.

“I’m pretty sure you came willingly, plus I rescued you from cold lab beds so you’re welcome?” Cisco crossed his arms and glared at Barry. 

“You took my cereal hostage!” 

“Cold lab beds!” 

“ _Cereal!_ ”

“I’m glad you shared this information with me Barry, and I’m sorry about Joe. I know that must be extremely difficult for you.” Caitlin smiled sympathetically. “We can add him to the blacklist at STAR Labs if you want. It technically doesn’t do much now since only three people work there, but the doors will beep loudly if he tries to enter, and there’s lots of flashing lights.”

“Damn, why didn’t I think about that?” Cisco complained. “I’m definitely setting that up in the morning.” 

“If there’s anything else we can do Barry, let us know.” 

“Thanks Caitlin. For now I think all I need is the last slice of pepperoni.” The box was just out of his reach and he looked at it sadly. 

Caitlin rolled her eyes and passed over the box. 

Before Barry took a bite of the last slice, he shared some more information. “Mick Rory offered to torch Joe.” 

Cisco started coughing violently due to his soda going up his nose. “Dude! Caitlin and I had better be first on your _will murder Joe West_ list!”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to hide the body with just us two, although cremation is probably an easier option. We could team up.” Both Cisco and Barry stared at her incredulously. “What! He’s a homophobic jerk!” 

“Leonard Snart and Hartley Rathoway said they’d help too.”

“RogueFlash team-up baby!” Cisco pumped his fist. “This is the only occasion I will ever not fight this, y’all better not get used to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to emphasize that I would take a literal bullet for Joe West, but I had an idea for this fic and it made the most sense for it to be Joe. I love him with my entire heart I swear.


End file.
